moyer



(No Model.)

F. J. MOYER & O. A. HOAG.

FLYING TARGET.

No. 364,600. Patented June 7, 1887.

1 .HlmhmdlmllllllllllllllllmfimlIllllllllllflllllllllllfi warwy,

I UNITED STATE-sv PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK J. MOYER AND CHARLES A. HOAG, OF LOCKPORT, NEW YORK.

FLYING TARGET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 364,600, dated June 7, 1887.

Application filed July 8, 1886. Serial No. 207,476. (No model.)

To all whom/ it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK J. Moran and (bananas A.- HOAG, citizens of the United States, residing at Lockport, in thecounty of Niagara and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fly- Figure l of the drawings is a top plan view of a flyingtarget embodying ourinvention, and Fig. 2 a diametrical vertical section thereof.

The presentinvention has relation to that class of flying targets composed of clay,earthenware, or other material sufficiently fragile or brittle to break or shatter when struck with shot or similar projectiles, and which is provided with-alug or tongue adapted to be grasped by the jaw or clamp of the trap or sender and then projected into the air. Heretofore these lugs or tongues were integral with the target, or, in other words, formed of the same material from which said targetwas composed; or they were attached by forming'the tongue with lateral branches, the tongue being passed through a slot in the rim or flange of the target and the branches bent so as to bear snugly against the interior surface thereof to hold the tongue'in place; or the tongue was formed from the material which formed a partition to a metallic ring of the target and extended through a slot in said ring, the latter being applicable only totargets constructed principally of sheet metal. It was also common to provide these targets with a loopcomposed of cord or other like material, the ends thereof being secured to the periphery of the target by embedding them into the plastic material when formed into a target, said target being held to the throwing mechanism by the loop engaging wit-h the arm thereof, a special form of trap or throwing mechanism being required with this class of target.

In enumerating,as above described,the means usually employed for holding the target to the trap or throwing mechanism, such meanshave many objections which our invention seeks to overcome.

Our invention especiallyrefers to a target where the lug, tongue, or stem is used in contradistinction to the loop hereinbefore referred to; and it consists in connecting the tongue or stem to the target during the process of forming the target in suitable molds,as will behereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings is shown one of many forms of targets to which our invention is applicable, these targets being composed of clay, earthenware, or other material sufficiently fragile or brittle to break when struck with shot or similar projectiles, but is preferably composed of a composition. In the pres ent instance we have shown the target formed with two air-chambers, each concentric to the other and one arranged on each side, the outer flange, a, extending beyond the frame of the diaphragm b, and with the flange c, to which the diaphragm joins, or is connected at all points, thus forming a ring-chamber, A. This chamber, by athin stratum across the face of the diaphragm, may be said to be continuous upon one face of the target, the airbeing cushioned in the outer ring, while the connectingspace cl provides an enlarged area for compressed air, and centrally upon the opposite face of the target, between the flanges a,isa central air-chamber, 13. Although we find that this arrangement of air-chambers with a rapidly-revolving target is important in buoying up the same, we do not wish to be understood as limiting our invention to any special form of target or any special fragile material from which it is formed. The target is preferably composed of a composition that will become hard and brittle when in a cool state, and the tongue or stem 0 is connected thereto during the process of forming it'in the mold. We find it desirable to support the material at the body portion or diaphragm of the target, and to this end we arrange that the extension 6 of the tongue 0 shall project across or upon the same and be embedded in the material, and, if preferred, the extension of the tongue or stem may be bifurcated or forked to give increased strength to the diaphragm, this, however, being discretionary. The main object of extending the tongue or stem across or upon the diaphragm or body portion of the target is to give strength thereto and hold very brittle substances fr'om separating by reason of centrifugal force, allowing, as it does, a target to crack on striking the ground without entirely separating, or will support it from cracking and admit the target to be used a second time. This tongue or stem may be composed of any non-frangible material, such as wood, paper, straw-board, or sheetmetal or stiff leather may be used, if found desirable.

As heretofore described, the old method of attaching these tongues orstems to the target was by mechanical means after the target had been finished, in contradistinction to the method constituting our invention. There are numerous objections to the old way of connecting the tongue or stem to the target, in that it is affected by heat and moisture, and the tongues or stems are constantly coming off, and they cannot be put on with accuracy, and consequently the flights of no two targets are alike.

The trap frequently jerks off the tongues or stems,even when well conneeted,and it requires the uttermost accuracy and nicetyin adjusting the trap to give the proper flight and not remove or loosen the tongue or stem. XVhen a tongue or stem is loosened from its fastenings in the act of projecting it into the air, the target will take a different course in its flight. It will therefore be seen that it is absolutely necessary not onlyto secure thcstem or tongue firmly in position, but each with the same accuracy. This we attain by placing thetongue or stem in the mold, forming the composition around or upon it, which firmly connects the two together when the composition becomes cool,and the stem passing through the rim of the target and across or upon the diaphragm or body portion gives thereto a larger bearing on the body of the target and greatly strengthens it, as well as the tongue or stem. By this method the tongues or stems are located accurately, every one being exactly alike, and are very rigid, giving auniform flight and renderlng it impossible to loosen or break them off in trapping, while the manner of connecting the stem or tongue is much cheaper than the means heretofore employed, and consequently enables them to be placed in the market at a greatlyreduced cost. It is impossible to make a composition or plastic target and give it sufficient strength to stand trapping without the stem has a large bearing on the body thereof, and especially is this the case where the composition is heated to a liquid and then allowed to become solid. The means which we prefer using in the manufacture of our targets and the advantages of our invention, therefore, will be at once apparent to those familiar with the art.

Having now fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A plastic or composition flying targethaving a tongue or stem consisting of a strip of rigid material extending diametrically across or upon the diaphragi'n or body thereof and embedded in the material from which the target is formed, whereby the tongue or stem is held in position solely by said material, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A plastic or composition flyingtarget having a depressed diaphragm and concentric flanges and a tongue or stem extending across or upon said diaphragm and through the flanges, and embedded in the material thereof, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. A plastic or composition flyi ug target having two concentric flanges arranged to form an air-cushioning chamber between, adiaphragm connecting the in ner edges of one of the flanges upon aplane within that described by the edges of the outer flange to form a central air-chamber upon the reverse face, as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the above we have hereunto subscribed our names in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK .T. MOYER. CHARLES A. HOAG.

\Vitnesses:

0. II. FREEMAN, S. V. DEMPSEY. 

